Page 79 of Guarding Truth

Was this an unwinnable situation?

Think, Caleb, think.There had to be a way out of this. Theo couldn’t get away with his reign of terror. Noelle inched closer to Theo, trying to stay out of his field of vision.

“Stop with the games, Theo. You’re not letting any of us walk away. We all know too much.” Caleb turned slightly to catch Juliette’s attention. She stood frozen, her eyes darting between the three bad guys with guns. He stood ramrod straight in front of Ivy, making himself look as intimidating as possible, despite his hammering heart playing his rib cage like a xylophone.

Refusing to flinch or back down in the slightest, Caleb stared hard. The Army had prepared him for combat. After assessing his opponent, he knew the man didn’t have any combat skills—he wasn’t holding the gun correctly—but with Theo’s finger hovering over the trigger, if anything set the man off, it would spell disaster.

Theo’s nostrils flared, but he said nothing. The man was in his late twenties, maybe approaching thirty. He had his whole life ahead of him. And while his Robin Hood vigilante-style justice was hailed by some, his list of crimes would land him in jail for the rest of his life. Assuming they could get him there.

“How much more are you willing to lose, Theo? Your family, your son? Because murder is a much bigger deal than a bank robbery.”

“You don’t call the shots. I do.” Theo’s hands trembled, and his eyes twitched. Was the man on something? “You’ve been the boss long enough. I’ve stood in your shadow long enough. It’s time to take down two Goliaths with one stone—you and the bank.”

This man had targeted Cyberskies to carry out his crimes. Theo was smart, but he hadn’t operated alone.

“Theo, the police are surrounding the building as we speak. You need to run if you want to have any chance of escaping.”

Caleb flicked his eyes to Noelle on his left and Juliette on his right, neither of whom were moving. Where were Alana and Agent Williams? Agent Slaton should have gotten through to help by now. Hopefully Theo wouldn’t call his bluff.

“Choose!” Theo’s agitation was just this side of unhinged.

As if Caleb could choose. The reason he’d refused to give his heart to anyone was this very situation. It always ended with someone getting hurt. Or worse—death.

“Police. We have the building surrounded.” The sound of the police megaphone was music to Caleb’s ears, but he needed to talk this madman off a ledge before he hurt the people Caleb loved.

There was only one answer in Caleb’s mind. Juliette’s wide eyes meant she could read his thoughts. He took two steps forward, straight into the path of Theo’s gun.

“Take me. Let Ivy, Juliette, and Noelle go. It’s obvious the issues you have are with me.”

“That’s not how it works. You do as I say. I’ll kill them both—” Theo was cut off by a crackle over his radio. They must have set their communications up to get around the signal jammer. A fact he wished he’d known earlier—he would have tried to steal one of their radios.

A voice came through the speaker. “Rough Rider. Get out of there. Police have entered the building.” Sirens wailed in the distance. But what struck Caleb was the distinctly female voice. It resonated with Caleb, like it was someone he knew.

Was the voice on the other end of the radio CyberLane? Could she be the mastermind of this whole operation?

“You know what?” Theo waved the gun around Caleb’s face. “On second thought, I will take you. I’m getting out of here. You two.” He nodded to the hired guns. “Get rid of the rest of them and then run. Caleb’s my bargaining chip out of here.”

TWENTY

SATURDAY, 3:20 A.M.

Why did this man always have to sacrifice himself? Juliette started forward, but the gun pressed against her temple halted her.

Think, think, think!

Caleb stared at Juliette as Theo shuffled him out the door. His eyes communicated love and the promise of a future.

Why did love always look a lot like sacrifice? Last time, she’d left him rather than have her problems bring him down. But now?

This man truly loved her. He was risking his life for her. The logical, risk-averse Caleb had willingly put his life on the line to save her. To rescue her.

God, please let us have more time together.

She wanted the rest of her life to be spent with the man now held at gunpoint.

Theo positioned himself behind Caleb and jabbed his gun in his back before slamming the door shut. “Let’s go,” was the last thing Juliette heard.

Hopefully Theo would keep Caleb alive as a hostage, but his instruction to the two hired gunmen signaled the end for Juliette, Noelle, and Ivy.